So.... I was thinking, and if Disney purchased all of Lucasfilm, does that mean they own the rights to all of the footage and deleted scenes? I am already assuming sometime before Ep 7 comes out that a new 3D release box set may include the original films unaltered and in a bluray format. But with Disney's style of releasing anything to home video (raise your hand if you own a copy of Aladdin part 3). Is it safe to assume that other titles may be re-released or released for the first time such as the Ewoks movies, Droids cartoons, and the Star Wars Holiday special (which other than some of the singing has more entertainment value than it us given credit for)? I can also see collectors springing for ultimate editions of the original movies with the special editions, original editions, and ALL of the deleted scenes and footage in the vault that pertains to that film. I hate to buy these for a ridiculous fifth or sixth time, but....

I believe at some point in the next few years we'll get pre-97 cuts of the films. I know there is murkiness with the rights to Star Wars, but I am sure that Fox would be happy to share in some revenue on a 35 year old film.

Fox is nothing but a distributer. They own nothing related to Star Wars. Fox got a small percentage to place the movie in theaters nothing more. It's like saying Walmart owns the rights to everthing it sells.

Fox does own the distribution rights for the first film, so it could throw some drama into the reality of this happening. They don't own anything else about the films except that, but it is sort of a big deal. This is more like WalMart buying the EXCLUSIVE distribution rights to a product, and then the manufacturer trying to sell it at another distributor. The manufacturer would have to wait for those rights to expire (which they won't here; Fox owns them in perpetuity) or the manufacturer and the distributors would have to hammer out an agreement.

Really interesting story there. Fills in a lot of details about just when Lucas decided to get the band back together for Episode 7, when Disney came on board, etc. Definitely a good read.

I'm not an investment banker, but it looks like Disney got a steal compared to what they paid for Pixar and Marvel. They paid $7 billion and $4 billion for Pixar and Marvel, respectively, while paying $4 billion for Lucasfilm.

Page 3 of the article shows the cash flows at the three companies at the time of purchase and Lucasfilm generates significantly more operating income than Marvel.

Iger is busy readying the machinery that will crank out Star Wars-related toys and theme park attractions and whatever Disney deems as appropriate franchise exploitation. He says he’s looking to expand sales of Star Wars merchandise overseas and that ABC and Lucasfilm are discussing a live-action TV series. At the same time, Iger says he doesn’t want to do anything that might detract from the upcoming movies. “I don’t want to overcommercialize or overhype this,” he says. “It’s my job to prevent that.”

Star Wars become overcommercialized or overhyped?! Perish the thought! Disney knows what they are doing, it's not like they put Mickey Mouse on everything...

It's interesting that Disney did so many cutbacks when they bought LFL. When they bought Pixar and Marvel they left everything alone and told them to continue without interference. They then buy LFL and its cuts everywhere. I guess you don't mess with an engine that is firing on all cylinders. LFL sure wasn't. It's like Lucas was actively trying to destroy his IP.

Kill Lucasfilm animation - no need to have that when you have Pixar. Besides LFL is using similar software and Detours makes the IP into a joke. You don't see Disney doing that with Mickey. That's a poor way to grow a brand.

3D movie re-releases - there is no point to re-releasing these movies in such poor state. 3D was poorly done for ep1 and it was a marketing failure that we still have to live with to this day. These movies should be presented to a new generation without gimmicks and less 3rd party marketing campaigns.

Lucasarts - This division has not released a self published title in years. Most of what has come out recently has been bad. Making an adult star wars game alienates its core audience of kids that Disney wants to keep.

Star Wars comics - cheaper to do them in house then deal with a third party.

Hasbro toy line - poor distribution, bankrupt ideas, poor quality, out of control prices. It's good to put this in to carbon freeze for a while. When the toys return, they will fly off the shelf again.

Good luck George on those smaller independent movies you've always wanted to make. I hope they do better than Red Tails. Remember, a special effect without a story is a pretty boring thing.

I think that anything that is not family friendly will be shuttered. The "adult" games? Cancelled. TCW, while marketed to children, was not at all in the same family friendly "place" that the OT and even TPM is. The violence in this show was over the line, even when compared to RotS.

Whether the vocal internet adult fans like it or not, SW is a family brand, and Disney will now bring it back to where it was and the changes that have slowly crept in since RotS and Lucas lost interest in the brand will be turned around. You won't see Family guy parodying any more, and that is also why Detours was shut down.